Beginning 2018, REI will end its partnership with eVent Fabrics, which was the membrane used in REI’s outerwear line since 2008. In its place, REI will launch a range of water- and wind-proof shells and pants using Gore-Tex membranes.

I really like eVent, and this could be a great opportunity to save some money. But dang, I’m not in a position to purchase a new eVent rain jacket right now, even one that’s currently on sale for $113.00

Jeff, I think that part of what you say is true. Gore-Tex is fairly well known by the average consumer in a way that eVent isn’t. I also think that Gore-Tex’s environmental initiatives line up with REI’s goals as well. That is just a guess though.

I’m very curious as to why REI took the gamble to go with eVent in the first place? Possibly cost, with the hope that the superior product would win over customers after they use it?

I talked with Montane last year and they replaced eVent with Gore-Tex on all their higher end shells. I just met with Mountain Hardwear yesterday and learned that they are bringing Gore-Tex back as well, again just for their most expensive pieces. Both told me that it’s because of brand recognition and customer perception.

Rab still uses eVent, but only in a select few shells. For other shells, like the Kinetic and Kinetic Plus, they have their own proprietary stretch waterproof fabric. It looks like most of their shells are using Pertex+.

eVENT had an edge for awhile with their technology. Gore has now caught up, and has a much more impactive marketing machine…the Gore name is far more recognizable to the general consumer (not necessarily the BPL crowd).

Fortunately, the performance of Gore is pretty good now. Interestingly, we are in need of a pretty dramatic technology step to gain significant increases in performance from here. eVENT accomplished that step several years ago…

Neoshell was going to be the next evolution. It really is amazingly breathable stuff. It just doesn’t stay waterproof very long. I’ve cycled through all the various miracle fabrics as they come out, but then reluctantly always return to goretex. It just works predictably the longest.